Matthew Longstaffe | University of Calgary (original) (raw)
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Papers by Matthew Longstaffe
Research Reports in Belizean Archaeology, 2023
Key to archaeological research is our ability to recognize and define material-culture patterns a... more Key to archaeological research is our ability to recognize and define material-culture patterns and organize such patterns in time and space. Since 2014, the Stann Creek Regional Archaeology Project (SCRAP) has focused on understanding processes of settlement development and growth at the Ancestral Maya town of Alabama in East-Central Belize, constructed and occupied primarily during the transition period between the late facet of the Late Classic to Terminal Classic periods. While we may never know precisely who settled Alabama and why, we aim to answer questions about the where, when, and how of its development in our ongoing research. In following these lines of inquiry, we have had to grapple with several obstacles that have frustrated standard practices of building archaeological chronologies at the site. Such barriers include earthen-core architecture with minimal artifact refuse within platform cores. Additionally, local and regional soil conditions that result in a poorly preserved and highly fragmentary ceramic assemblage and no preservation of human or faunal remains to date. Finally, we face the difficulties of constraining the radiocarbon calibration curve during the primary period of Alabama's settlement and growth. This paper details these problems and outlines our various approaches in their confrontation.
The Mayanist, 2023
In recent years, studies have documented a surprisingly diverse array of social, political, and e... more In recent years, studies have documented a surprisingly diverse array of social, political, and economic integrative strategies of intermediate elites, enhancing our understanding of ancient Maya social organization. Here, we present the preliminary results of one such study that aims to document practices and activities at Ximbal Che, an intermediate elite architectural group at Yaxnohcah, Campeche. In addition to revealing a complex history of construction, expansion, and remodelling spanning the Late Preclassic (200 BC-AD 200) through to the end of the Late Classic (AD 650-850), our investigations have supplied a glimpse into the shifting socioeconomic strategies of the people who resided at this group. Ximbal Che is located next to Yaxnohcah's Sakjol complex, interpreted as a marketplace constructed and in operation during the Late Classic. We hypothesize that Ximbal Che was the residential and administrative site of an intermediate elite corporate group that played a critical role in integrating its surrounding neighborhood by organizing and administering this marketplace.
Journal of Anthropological Archaeology, 2022
Research focusing on the emergence and collapse of ancient Maya polities is abundant, with many s... more Research focusing on the emergence and collapse of ancient Maya polities is abundant, with many studies detailing these sociopolitical transformations from the perspective of apical elites at Classic period centers across the lowlands. It is, however, only relatively recently that studies have examined how the integrative strategies of commoner populations were both enabled and constrained by processes of sociopolitical integration and disintegration. This detailed settlement study reconstructs how the practices of a commoner community in the site core of Minanha, Belize, were central to the construction and reproduction of the social dynamics of this ancient Maya center, from its founding through to its abandonment. We explore how households adapted and reorganized in response to major sociopolitical transformations, emphasizing integrative and disintegrative processes associated with the rise and fall of Minanha’s Late Classic (AD 675–810) royal court. This diachronic perspective illustrates the historically contingent nature of household and community responses to the Classic Maya collapse. We utilize a conjunctive methodology that combines “bottom up” (household and community) and “top down” (royal court) data to provide a nuanced and holistic picture of processes of sociopolitical transformation in the Maya lowlands.
Research Reports in Belizean Archaeology, 2011
Over the span of its history, the ancient Maya city-state of Minanha underwent dramatic changes i... more Over the span of its history, the ancient Maya city-state of Minanha underwent dramatic changes in its political, economic, and social environment, marked by the establishment of a royal court during the Late Classic period (AD 675-810). Three years of housemound excavations in the Site Core of Minanha has generated a robust data set of fine enough resolution to address the many factors that contributed to the social, political, and economic dynamic of, not only this particular settlement, but also, the center as a whole. The material inventory and nature of the Site Core settlement indicate that, throughout its existence, this community was richly textured, inhabited by an array of individuals and families engaged in a range of different economic activities, socio-political relationships, diverse ritual practices, and with differential access to resources. As an avenue of inquiry, exploring the integrative strategies of the Site Core households, from their initial occupations to their abandonment, has clarified the response this commoner community had to both the rise, and the fall of the Minanha city-state.
ANCIENT MAYA SITE CORE SETTLEMENT AT MINANHA, BELIZE: DEVELOPMENT, INTEGRATION, AND COMMUNITY DYN... more ANCIENT MAYA SITE CORE SETTLEMENT AT MINANHA, BELIZE: DEVELOPMENT, INTEGRATION, AND COMMUNITY DYNAMICS Matthew Stephen Longstaffe
Conference Presentations by Matthew Longstaffe
Over the span of its history, the community at the ancient Maya city-state of Minanha, Belize, un... more Over the span of its history, the community at the ancient Maya city-state of Minanha, Belize, underwent dramatic changes in its political and social environment, marked by the establishment of a royal court during the Late Classic period . A community-based archaeological study aims to clarify the role, and function Minanha's commoner population maintained in relation to this royal court and to explain community response to the dramatic social, and political processes that led to its establishment, and eventual decline.
Editorials and Editor-Reviewed Articles by Matthew Longstaffe
The Mayanist, 2023
The Editorial for The Mayanist 4(2)
Research Reports in Belizean Archaeology, 2023
Key to archaeological research is our ability to recognize and define material-culture patterns a... more Key to archaeological research is our ability to recognize and define material-culture patterns and organize such patterns in time and space. Since 2014, the Stann Creek Regional Archaeology Project (SCRAP) has focused on understanding processes of settlement development and growth at the Ancestral Maya town of Alabama in East-Central Belize, constructed and occupied primarily during the transition period between the late facet of the Late Classic to Terminal Classic periods. While we may never know precisely who settled Alabama and why, we aim to answer questions about the where, when, and how of its development in our ongoing research. In following these lines of inquiry, we have had to grapple with several obstacles that have frustrated standard practices of building archaeological chronologies at the site. Such barriers include earthen-core architecture with minimal artifact refuse within platform cores. Additionally, local and regional soil conditions that result in a poorly preserved and highly fragmentary ceramic assemblage and no preservation of human or faunal remains to date. Finally, we face the difficulties of constraining the radiocarbon calibration curve during the primary period of Alabama's settlement and growth. This paper details these problems and outlines our various approaches in their confrontation.
The Mayanist, 2023
In recent years, studies have documented a surprisingly diverse array of social, political, and e... more In recent years, studies have documented a surprisingly diverse array of social, political, and economic integrative strategies of intermediate elites, enhancing our understanding of ancient Maya social organization. Here, we present the preliminary results of one such study that aims to document practices and activities at Ximbal Che, an intermediate elite architectural group at Yaxnohcah, Campeche. In addition to revealing a complex history of construction, expansion, and remodelling spanning the Late Preclassic (200 BC-AD 200) through to the end of the Late Classic (AD 650-850), our investigations have supplied a glimpse into the shifting socioeconomic strategies of the people who resided at this group. Ximbal Che is located next to Yaxnohcah's Sakjol complex, interpreted as a marketplace constructed and in operation during the Late Classic. We hypothesize that Ximbal Che was the residential and administrative site of an intermediate elite corporate group that played a critical role in integrating its surrounding neighborhood by organizing and administering this marketplace.
Journal of Anthropological Archaeology, 2022
Research focusing on the emergence and collapse of ancient Maya polities is abundant, with many s... more Research focusing on the emergence and collapse of ancient Maya polities is abundant, with many studies detailing these sociopolitical transformations from the perspective of apical elites at Classic period centers across the lowlands. It is, however, only relatively recently that studies have examined how the integrative strategies of commoner populations were both enabled and constrained by processes of sociopolitical integration and disintegration. This detailed settlement study reconstructs how the practices of a commoner community in the site core of Minanha, Belize, were central to the construction and reproduction of the social dynamics of this ancient Maya center, from its founding through to its abandonment. We explore how households adapted and reorganized in response to major sociopolitical transformations, emphasizing integrative and disintegrative processes associated with the rise and fall of Minanha’s Late Classic (AD 675–810) royal court. This diachronic perspective illustrates the historically contingent nature of household and community responses to the Classic Maya collapse. We utilize a conjunctive methodology that combines “bottom up” (household and community) and “top down” (royal court) data to provide a nuanced and holistic picture of processes of sociopolitical transformation in the Maya lowlands.
Research Reports in Belizean Archaeology, 2011
Over the span of its history, the ancient Maya city-state of Minanha underwent dramatic changes i... more Over the span of its history, the ancient Maya city-state of Minanha underwent dramatic changes in its political, economic, and social environment, marked by the establishment of a royal court during the Late Classic period (AD 675-810). Three years of housemound excavations in the Site Core of Minanha has generated a robust data set of fine enough resolution to address the many factors that contributed to the social, political, and economic dynamic of, not only this particular settlement, but also, the center as a whole. The material inventory and nature of the Site Core settlement indicate that, throughout its existence, this community was richly textured, inhabited by an array of individuals and families engaged in a range of different economic activities, socio-political relationships, diverse ritual practices, and with differential access to resources. As an avenue of inquiry, exploring the integrative strategies of the Site Core households, from their initial occupations to their abandonment, has clarified the response this commoner community had to both the rise, and the fall of the Minanha city-state.
ANCIENT MAYA SITE CORE SETTLEMENT AT MINANHA, BELIZE: DEVELOPMENT, INTEGRATION, AND COMMUNITY DYN... more ANCIENT MAYA SITE CORE SETTLEMENT AT MINANHA, BELIZE: DEVELOPMENT, INTEGRATION, AND COMMUNITY DYNAMICS Matthew Stephen Longstaffe
Over the span of its history, the community at the ancient Maya city-state of Minanha, Belize, un... more Over the span of its history, the community at the ancient Maya city-state of Minanha, Belize, underwent dramatic changes in its political and social environment, marked by the establishment of a royal court during the Late Classic period . A community-based archaeological study aims to clarify the role, and function Minanha's commoner population maintained in relation to this royal court and to explain community response to the dramatic social, and political processes that led to its establishment, and eventual decline.
The Mayanist, 2023
The Editorial for The Mayanist 4(2)